Driving in the Hudson Valley: It’s Electric!

If you drive an electric vehicle (EV), you’ve probably developed a habit of scoping out the nearest charging station, just in case. While 80% of car charging happens at home, battery range, work, and unexpected errands mean you may need to track down a public charge more often than you’d like.

Here’s some great news for Hudson Valley EV drivers like you.

First, charging stations are popping up in our region faster than craft breweries. Check the links below as the numbers will continue to change. Some Hudson Valley towns are among the most EV-friendly in New York, with 239 stations in Kingston, 67 in Hudson, and more than 1240 in the Albany/Troy area. Ulster County has the largest network of municipal Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations in the State of New York and all municipal stations are free of charge, courtesy of the Ulster County Chamber of Commerce. Additional EV charging stations are located at the Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, Buttermilk Falls Inn and Spa in Milton, Tuthilltown Spirit Distillery in Gardiner, Emerson Resort & Spa in Mt. Tremper, Hampton Inn by Hilton and the SUNY New Paltz campus. The county expects this small infrastructure investment to be a big boon for local tourism since Ulster sits just within the normal distance of an EV’s travel range.

Not only are there more and more stations every day, but they’re easier than ever to locate, thanks to a wide range of free iPhone and Android apps. PlugShare, Open Charge Map, and ChargeHub offer layers of customization, global data, community-building features, and even alerts so you know when a new charging station comes online near you. For a simpler no-fuss approach, you might also check out the Alternative Feuling Stations app from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. They’re all very user-friendly. In general, you just type in a ZIP code or let the app use your current location to find stations within a certain radius.

So whether you’re behind the wheel of a plug-in hybrid like the Ford Escape PHEV or the Ferrari SF90 Stradale, or you went all-in on a battery-only model like the Chevrolet Bolt EV or the Tesla Model X, finding a public charging station in the Hudson Valley should be as easy as finding a hiking trail or great new place for lunch.